Wellesley filmmaker documents baseball fever in a cold state

Michael Ferrigno

Wednesday

Dec 23, 2009 at 12:01 AMDec 23, 2009 at 8:02 PM

Fairbanks, Alaska, might be 3,200 miles away from Wellesley, but the two certainly have something in common. Given Massachusetts’ wintertime, some might think it’s the chilly temperature. The truth is, in addition to being similar in population size, both are home to a large contingent of baseball fans. One Wellesley resident, Eric Scharmer, has set about retelling Alaska’s storied baseball history in his new film “Touching the Game, Alaska.”

Fairbanks, Alaska, might be 3,200 miles away from Wellesley, but the two certainly have something in common. Given Massachusetts’ wintertime, some might think it’s the chilly temperature. The truth is, in addition to being similar in population size, both are home to a large contingent of baseball fans. One Wellesley resident, Eric Scharmer, has set about retelling Alaska’s storied baseball history in his new film “Touching the Game, Alaska.”

Composed of six teams in four Alaskan cities, the little-known Alaska Baseball League is one among many collegiate-level baseball systems. The Alaska Goldpanners team highlighted in “Touching the Game” was founded by Fall River native and “Name That Tune” champion Henry “Red” Boucher, with the intent of giving collegiate players a chance to develop their skills and expose them to a glimpse of life in professional baseball.

The players and staff involved in the ABL get the added benefit of playing in a beautiful atmosphere and surrounded by a hardy, enthusiastic legion of baseball fans. “The can-do attitude that we try to portray in the movie is what the people are truly like,” said Scharmer. “It’s the final frontier and it’s pretty amazing.”

Scharmer’s interest and involvement in baseball certainly wasn’t linear. The adventure photographer spent his summers not playing baseball, but pulling the pirate shipwreck Whydah off the ocean floor. That is, when he wasn’t skiing in the Pro Mogul Tour, filming above the Arctic Circle or perhaps picking up footage for the Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” series.

In 2002, Scharmer, together with his partner, Anthony Keel, started Eye Candy Cinema. The Boston-based production company takes on any number of film projects, ranging from educational to corporate video. It was Scharmer’s involvement with the New England Sports Network, however, that led not only to his director of photography credit in “Touching the Game, Alaska” but also Eye Candy Cinema’s involvement in “Touching the Game, Cape Cod,” which featured the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Dating back to 1960, the Alaska Baseball League has served as the launching pad for a long list of Major League Baseball stars. Dave Winfield, Tom Seaver, Mark Grace and Jason Giambi have all played in the ABL as well as local Red Sox favorites Terry Francona, J.D. Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury. One of the player stories featured in “Touching the Game, Alaska” is that of Beau Mills, son of recently departed Red Sox bench coach, and now Houston Astros manager, Brad Mills.

Far removed from the cushy stipends and luxurious conditions of Major League Baseball, the living conditions in the Alaska Baseball League are often hot and crowded. Additionally, Alaska’s wide-open expanses make for long bus travel in-between games. Nevertheless, players come away from the ABL with so many experiences that Scharmer literally couldn’t fit all of the “only in Alaska” stories into his movie.

A highlight of baseball in Alaska and one of the focuses of Scharmer’s “Touching the Game” film, is the Midnight Sun game. From the first pitch at 10:30 p.m. to the end of the game well past midnight, the Midnight Sun game has never been played under artificial light throughout its 104-year history. Alaskan baseball fans have the summer solstice to thank for supplying the light on game day, and with about 23-hours of daylight at that point in the season, even the birds have trouble sleeping.

But hard work and little sleep is certainly something that Scharmer isn’t adverse to. Last August, he spent an entire day standing completely still while acting as a press pool cameraman during Senator Ted Kennedy’s funeral. Next in a line of upcoming projects for Eye Candy Cinema is the NHL’s Winter Classic. Scharmer is looking forward to the game, saying, “The thing I love about this business is that we’re always shooting different stuff.”

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